(Editor's note: Each day while he's in Fort Myers, our Twins writer Dan Hayes will write on many topics surrounding the team at spring training. This is the place to find his latest news and notes — items too big for just a tweet but maybe too short for a full story. For more, follow Dan on Twitter.)

FORT MYERS, Fla. — It didn't take very long for Miguel Sano to be a topic of discussion at spring training.

As pitchers and catchers reported to camp on Tuesday, Twins general manager Thad Levine was asked about the ongoing MLB investigation of assault allegations against Sano and how it could affect the team’s plans. Levine said the Twins continue to await the findings.

“We’re beholden to the process that the union and the commissioner’s office are undertaking, and we’ll abide by their findings when they have it,” Levine said. “Between now and then, our singular focus is getting him ready for Opening Day.”

That could be a tall task, even if Sano is cleared to play by then. The 6-foot-4, 260-pounder couldn't participate in conditioning or general baseball activities for several weeks after undergoing November surgery to insert a metal rod into his left shin, leading Levine to describe the Twins slugger as supporting a “generous carriage.”

Aside from hitting, Sano has only recently begun to work his way back into baseball shape. Levine said Sano is right about where the Twins expected him to be from a conditioning standpoint. And since the club has no control over the uncertainty surrounding MLB’s investigation, Levine said their main focus is to get the slugger prepared for the regular season, which begins March 29 in Baltimore.

“Right now we are focused on making sure he’s ready to go,” Levine said. “There’s a rest-and-recovery part of this, and there’s a rehabilitation part of this, and there’s a conditioning part. Those are things we feel like we can influence, and at least partially control.

“(His conditioning is) not behind where it should be right now, it’s probably about where it was supposed to be. And that’s why we were always cautious about saying he’d be ready to go more Opening Day than the opening of spring camp. Now, we hope he gets into shape in a timely fashion here, but he’s progressing about what one would expect considering he had to be off his leg for quite some time.”

Sano — who hit .264/.352/.507 with 28 home runs and 77 RBIs in 483 plate appearances last season — exited the lineup on Aug. 19. He only returned for the team’s final three games of the 2017 season, didn’t play in the wild-card game and underwent surgery on Nov. 13.

In December, a Twitter post from a photographer accused Sano of assaulting her in a mall shortly after an autograph-signing event in 2015. Sano denied the allegations through his agent.

After spending much of the offseason rehabbing at CenturyLink Sports Complex, Sano is currently working out in the Dominican Republic with former player Fernando Tatis. Despite speculation he might stay away from the start of camp until MLB’s investigation is finalized, Levine said he thinks Sano will report to spring camp on Sunday and participate in the team’s first full squad workout on Monday. Though he’ll be active early, don’t expect the Twins to rush to put Sano into an exhibition game unless they think he’s ready.

“He’s just started running the bases,” Levine said. “I think from a pain-management standpoint, he’s where we want him to be. Understandably, from a conditioning standpoint, that’s the part where we’re going to want to make sure he passes some markers before we put him in a game. We’ve come a long way here, and we would want to try as best we can to avoid any sort of muscle injury just because we didn’t condition him to the level that we need to.”

Whether or not they’ll be without Sano, though, is for now a matter of more than just his health.

Chris Heisey, who hit a two-run homer for the Nationals in Game 5 of the 2016 NLDS, joined the Twins on a minor-league deal Tuesday. (Credit: Geoff Burke/USA TODAY Sports)

Ervin Santana, Kyle Gibson won’t workout with team Tuesday

Two of the Twins’ starting pitchers won’t participate in the team’s first workout on Tuesday as neither is in camp, Levine said. Gibson won’t officially join the Twins until after the completion of his arbitration hearing, which hasn’t been officially announced but is expected soon.

Meanwhile, Santana is headed to New York for a follow-up appointment on Friday. Santana had surgery on his right middle finger last week and is expected to be out until at least mid-April.

Chris Heisey signs minor-league deal

Veteran outfielder Chris Heisey received an invitation to big-league camp after he signed a minor-league deal, Levine announced. Heisey, 33, has a career .238/.296/.413 slash line in 1,758 plate appearances and has played for the Cincinnati Reds, Los Angeles Dodgers and Washington Nationals.

Justin Morneau joins Fox Sports North team

Twins legend Justin Morneau will head to the broadcast booth in a part-time role, the team announced. Morneau, who officially retired last month and was named a team ambassador, will work six games in the booth as an analyst. His schedule also calls for Morneau to work on a dozen of the team’s pre- and postgame shows.

Twins to scout Tim Lincecum’s workout

In need of pitching depth, the Twins plan to attend Tim Lincecum’s workout in Seattle on Thursday. A two-time National League Cy Young winner, Lincecum last pitched in the majors when he made nine starts for the Los Angeles Angels in 2016. Lincecum went 110-89 with a 3.74 ERA and a career whiff-rate of 24.4 percent in parts of 10 seasons.

Dan Hayes is a MLB Staff Writer for The Athletic Minnesota covering the Twins. Dan joined The Athletic after 5 1/2 years at NBC Sports Chicago and 8 years at The North County Times, where he covered the White Sox, Padres, four World Series, the NBA Finals, NHL Stanley Cup Final, NASCAR, UFC, Little League World Series, PGA and the NFL. Follow Dan on Twitter @DanHayesMLB.